Another lovely shot. Right up there with your last b/w. It looks like you raided the Grout Museum and stole an historical photo of downtown W'loo in the 50s.
Looks like you solved the awkward problem of having to ask people if it's OK to include them in your picture. Simply take a photo of downtown Waterloo.
Pat: that is the Bank of Waterloo. What did you do for them? I remember they gave us all little replicas of our high school diplomas. I think my mom has mine (along with the actual diploma). Walkers is, I believe, still open. Waterloo has some pockets of business here and there downtown, but they are bookended with streets devoid of anything. Waterloo is pretty much a doughnut, I think, with most of the development and re-development around the periphery.
Carol: It's just over an hour from where I live. I probably don't visit the family nearly as much as I should.
That "donut" phenomenon is a model for every 5,000-100,000 person town in America, aside from a few with exceptional historical cultural/historical significance or a high percentage of hippies.
I once manned a phone during a Waterloo Community Playhouse pledge drive right out of that bank, I think. A very cool building, as I recall.
I watched fireworks from the top of the Courier Building.
I spent untold hours in the Rec Center.
I had my eye doctor appointments on floor 10 of "Blacks" (which always seemed like a storybook sort of generic "downtown buliding.)
I saw 8th grade Pat try to chase down a departing city bus with a recently-changed voice bellowing "Wait! Waaaaaait!!!" in that downtown.
I used to think of Waterloo's downtown when listening to the famous song by Petula Clark.
Good Grief, my world was a snow globe in those days.
While I didn't grow up in Waterloo, I've been connected to it all my life (my grandparents lived there all their lives), and I've seen some of the changes up close, others at a distance. My parents grew up there; they met at West High, and it's by partial coincidence that my brother and I attended school there, as well.
Living in small(er) town Iowa, we moved to Waterloo and the shock of the larger community was immediately apparent to me. West High was a large sprawl of people compared of Iowa Falls or Ackley.
As for the donought, Iowa City has so far staved the issue off, partly because of the University's location. The major center of the city is very pedestrian-friendly and business continue to thrive somewhat, despite the presence of Coralville and the willingness to convert itself into another generic suburb, complete with Applebee's and metastizing mall sprawl.
9 comments:
Another lovely shot. Right up there with your last b/w. It looks like you raided the Grout Museum and stole an historical photo of downtown W'loo in the 50s.
Looks like you solved the awkward problem of having to ask people if it's OK to include them in your picture. Simply take a photo of downtown Waterloo.
This is a beautiful photo! (even though it's so cold :) )
How far is Waterloo from where you live? Do you get to see your Mom much?
Inquisitive tonight...
Dan - oof. Doesn't seem like that nce of a day to be outside.
Is that the old National Bank of Waterloo on the right? I did some architecture work in there, back in my old days.
Walker's Shoes - do they still sell shoes. Even when I lived there I never shopped there.
If it weren't for plowed streets you could see this as a post apocalyptic, nuclear winter sort of shot.
Lovely.
Pat: that is the Bank of Waterloo. What did you do for them? I remember they gave us all little replicas of our high school diplomas. I think my mom has mine (along with the actual diploma). Walkers is, I believe, still open. Waterloo has some pockets of business here and there downtown, but they are bookended with streets devoid of anything. Waterloo is pretty much a doughnut, I think, with most of the development and re-development around the periphery.
Carol: It's just over an hour from where I live. I probably don't visit the family nearly as much as I should.
That "donut" phenomenon is a model for every 5,000-100,000 person town in America, aside from a few with exceptional historical cultural/historical significance or a high percentage of hippies.
I once manned a phone during a Waterloo Community Playhouse pledge drive right out of that bank, I think. A very cool building, as I recall.
I watched fireworks from the top of the Courier Building.
I spent untold hours in the Rec Center.
I had my eye doctor appointments on floor 10 of "Blacks" (which always seemed like a storybook sort of generic "downtown buliding.)
I saw 8th grade Pat try to chase down a departing city bus with a recently-changed voice bellowing "Wait! Waaaaaait!!!" in that downtown.
I used to think of Waterloo's downtown when listening to the famous song by Petula Clark.
Good Grief, my world was a snow globe in those days.
While I didn't grow up in Waterloo, I've been connected to it all my life (my grandparents lived there all their lives), and I've seen some of the changes up close, others at a distance. My parents grew up there; they met at West High, and it's by partial coincidence that my brother and I attended school there, as well.
Living in small(er) town Iowa, we moved to Waterloo and the shock of the larger community was immediately apparent to me. West High was a large sprawl of people compared of Iowa Falls or Ackley.
As for the donought, Iowa City has so far staved the issue off, partly because of the University's location. The major center of the city is very pedestrian-friendly and business continue to thrive somewhat, despite the presence of Coralville and the willingness to convert itself into another generic suburb, complete with Applebee's and metastizing mall sprawl.
Always the disclaimer: my type fast with a high spelling error-ratio. So, in advance, I know.
Up the street on the left there is a Subcity and Robin's Army Surplus. A teacher I work with owns the surplus store.
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